Emails that are very one sided, and tell only half a tale

Today I received a disturbing email from one of my four nieces, the eldest, and the one I always thought was somewhat of a free thinker, nearly Bohemian in nature.
She was an excellent student, straight A's, and was offered a scholarship to become an aeronautical engineer, but opted out due to falling in love.
She married at 19 and soon became the Mom of three gorgeous blue-eyed blond daughters each 2 years apart, and she had them at home with the assistance of a mid-wife in the tub under water, so I was told. Free spirit … free thinker!
She and her family are vegans.
And she also home schooled the girls and then mainstreamed them into the public school system where they were several grade levels above their peers. Made sure they learned musical instruments and played sports, winter and summer. They are all well rounded young ladies.
I love this child, and if I had a daughter I would want her to be just like her.
Now the problem is that she lives all the way across the country in Washington State, and we haven't seen or spoken face to face in years. Well, once, a few years ago she and her husband and girls popped in from visiting with their church at Disney World in Orlando. We are 3 hours from there, but they just magically appeared without warning, and I was delighted, and begged them to stay but they visited for just a few hours and then left. I think we showed them a good time in that short period that they were here, at least I hope so.
We are a diverse family, as most are today, and our immediate extended family consists of three common religions, Catholicism, Judaism, and Lutheran.
Which is not at all unusual today? Which also allows us to celebrate all holidays if we so desire!

But for some reason this email disturbed me because for some crazy reason I think she thinks that we are Atheists, not there is anything wrong with that.
I believe that everyone has the right to believe or not believe whatever they want to as long as it isn’t going to hurt anyone else or isn’t considered illegal.
Isn’t that what America is about; the home of the free and the brave.
Our ancestors, many of them came here to be allowed to go to the church or temple, mosque, or synagogue of their choice without people telling them they cannot worship where or when the wanted to.
Religious persecution was the reason many of our grandparents escaped to the land of the free.

With that said, I also believe what has been going on in the country has nothing to do with taking God out of the schools, and questioning public displays of holidays that to me have actually lost what their religious content was and have become way too commercial an entity.
Today ask any pre-schooler, even the ones that more than likely went to Sunday school, as I did. What’s the best part of Christmas or Hanukkah?
And I just bet they say …PRESENTS!
Not saying that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s birth, and that Hanukkah is the celebration of the 8 days that the miracle of the oil lasting when the Jews escaped from persecution.
If parents have done their jobs right children would still be going to after school programs like in our day when they went to religious classes after school and were incorporated into their schedules with soccer, hockey, tee-ball, football, etc.
But more and more two parent homes both parents are working, and no one has the time or ability to keep up with everyone’s schedules.
We both worked raising our sons who didn’t get involve with drugs or the cops, both are college grads, and making good livings today at 32 and 36 years of age.
They too had extra curricular activities that we made sure they went to some how some way, it takes a village comes to mind. Grandparents, knowing their friends and their friend’s parents helped to stay on target, and helping one another. They also rode their bikes or walked in some cases. Where there is a will there is a way.
And they were the generation before this one without prayer in the schools just like my niece who is now 37.
And she is also great!
Except for her concerns that she can’t do the same for her kids because of no God in her schools, or religious displays at government buildings during the holidays?
I think she doesn’t know that it has always been in the parent’s realm to teach what they want their children to know, and that we all have that power within our souls as human beings.

No one but us is responsible for how we think and how we live our lives.
I keep hearing over and over in my head what I was told as a small child in my own religious Sunday school classes along with the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule that God helps those who help themselves. Why has this changed?

Please dear niece that I think so highly of, do not think less of me because I DO believe in separation of church and state, and will not be brainwashed to thinking that excluding it from our government including the public schools that we will all go to hell in a hand basket!
We have many parochial schools available to those who so desire that complete daily training and that is why they have been around forever. Public buildings are for everyone not just Christians, but Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants Baha’i, Baptists… you get the point.
In order to be fair, to all at these public places, all religions would have to be represented not just a few select ones, and I am sure that when you really think about that you will understand where I am coming from.
I believe in everyone’s right to believe or not believe in anything they care to, and let me close by saying that I do believe that you have the right to believe whatever you so desire, but not the right to try to recruit others to your beliefs.
We must all learn to accept each others differences.
And that is all I am saying.
Good night to all.